Burnishing apparatus



Jan' 5, 1954 F. LA MONICA BURNISHING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet l FiledJuly 5, 1952 INVENTOR. FRAN/f L A /Vo/v/cfl.

TTOENEY Jan. 5, 1954 Filed July 5, 1952 F. LA MONICA BURNISHINGAPPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN1/EN TOR. WPA/wf L/l /VON/m.

TTOFP/VEX Patented Jan. 5, 1954 BURNISHING APPARATUS Frank La Monica,Unionville, Conn., assignor to The United Tool & Die Company, Elmwood,Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application July 5, 1952, Serial No.297,221

Thisl invention relates to a burnishing apparatus and more particularlyto apparatus for burnishing or polishing metal articles by rubbing themwith other pieces of material such as pebbles, metal balls and the like.

It is an object of this invention to provide a burnishng apparatus inwhich the articles to be burnished are placed into a iiexible barrel, ordrum, together with the pieces of burnishing or polishing material androlled at high speeds While undel` pressure.

A still further object of this invention is the provision of anapparatus in which the articles to be burnished are rolled while forcedinto contactwith the burnishing material.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a burnishingapparatus including a ilexiblebarrel or drum in which the articles to beburnished and the burnishingl material are constantly in motion and incirculation within the drum so that all portions of the articles arebrought into contact with the said material and the efficiency of theapparatus is thereby greatly increased.

Further objects and advantages of this invention will be more clearlyunderstood from the following description and the accompanying drawingsin which:

Fig. 1 is a side view, in central vertical section, of a exi'bleburnishing drum embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is a side View of my burnishing apparatus,partly in section online 2--2 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 3 is a front view of the said apparatus, partly in central Verticalsection.

In the embodiment of my invention which is illustrated in theaccompanying drawings, there is provided a iiexible barrel 5 whichincludes a bag 6 that is preferably constructed of rubber or similarviiexible material and is longitudinally cross-sectionally oval-shaped,as shown in Fig. 1, when in its normal condition. The said bag is moldedupon end inserts 'I and v8 which provide axial bearing members at theopposite ends of the said bag. The insert 8 is in the form of an annularcollar having a bearing portion 9 and anouter annular ange I0 to which acover II is detachably secured by means of screws I2 or other suitablefastening means. The said insert 8 also has an inner1 annular flange I3to which the bag 6 is lattached by either a molding or a vulcanizingoperation.

The cover II has attached thereto a suitable swivel connection I4 whichincludes a nipple I5 that is threaded to the said cover and is rotatably1o claims. (o1. 51-2) secured to a shell I6 by means of a sleeve I'I anda sealing ring I8. A conductor pipe I9 is connected to the said shelland communicates with a suitable source of vacuum or pressure.

A similar swivel connection Ill-a is connected to the insert 'l whichinsert also has an annular ange 2D by means of whichy it is attached tothe bag 6. A fiuid supply pipe IQ-a is connected to the said swive1connection Ill-a.

As shown in Figs. 2 and 3, my improved apparatus further includes a pairof pneumatic supporting rolls 2| and 22 which are rotatably mounted in asuitable frame 23 and driven by such as an electric motor 24.

A pneumatic pressure roll 25 is rotatably mounted upon a pair ofsupporting 'bars 26-26 which are hinged at 27 upon the said frame 23 andan adjusting screw 28 is threaded to a bearing 29 in said frame and isconnected to the said supporting bars 26-26.

The said supporting rolls and the pressure roll are preferably in theform of circular bags or tires which are inflated to the pressurerequired for applying a suitable yielding force against the barrel andupon the material therein to produce the desired results.

The barrel 5 is pivotally mounted upon supporting bars 30--30 which arepivotally mounted upon the said frame at 3l and rotatably connected tothe bearing portions 9 and the insert 7.

'It will be noted from Fig. 2 of the drawings that during th-e operationof the apparatus the bag 6 is squeezed between the rolls 22 and 25 sothat it is distorted from its normal shape and is forced inwardly at thepoints of contact with the said rolls to form conveX-spheroidalprotrusions upon the inside surface of the bag, as at 3|, and sufficientpressure is applied to compact the contents of the said bag and provideinwardly extending protrusions which are stationary while the bag isrotated. These protrusions provide obstruction in the path of thematerial in the barrel which deflects the said contents towards the endsof the barrel.

The operation of my above described apparatus is as follows:

The cover II is first removed, the articles to be burnished, togetherwith the burnishing material, are placed inside of the barrel 6 and thecover I I is replaced. The pressure screw 28 is then rotated to forcethe pressure roll upon the against the articles in said barrel.

When the motor 2f! is energized, it will drive the rolls 2l and 22 andthereby rotate the barrel 6 while it is maintained in squeezed conditionbetween the said rolls.

The rotation of the exible barrel 6 will cause the particles ofburnishing material to rub against the articles in the barrel andrapidly burnish them.

The rapid rotation of the barrel 6 will cause centrifugal force whichwill move the material therein towards the center of the barrel and thedepressions 3l in said barrel, which are formed by the supporting andpressure rolls, will cause the said material to be deflected towards theends of the barrel and thereby cause circulation of the burnishingmaterial and the articles being burnished towards the opposite ends ofthe barrel so that a continuous circulating movement of the contents ofthe barrel will be maintained by the combined centrifugal force, whichmoves the contents towards the center of the barrel, and the deectingaction towards the end of the barrel that is caused by the protrusionson the inside of the barrel which are formed by the supporting andpressure rolls and which are stationary while the barrel is rotated.

I claim:

1. A burnishing apparatus including a flexible longitudinallycross-sectionally oval-shaped barrel, means for rotating said barrel,and a plurality of pneumatic rolls applied under pressure against theexterior of the barrel and forming protrusions upon the inside thereoffor compacting and deecting the contents oi the barrel.

2. A burnishing apparatus including a flexible longitudinallycross-sectionally oval-shaped barrel adapted to contain material andcause said material to be moved towards its center by centrifugal forceduring rotation thereof, means for rotating the barrel, and pressuremeans including a plurality of pneumatic rolls applied against theexterior of the barrel for compacting the material therein and forminginwardly extending protrusions to deflect the said material towards theends of the barrel.

3. A burnishing apparatus including a exible barrel having a detachablecover and being longitudinally cross-sectionally oval-shaped, aplurality of rolls supporting said barrel, means forforcing said rollsagainst said barrel and forming inwardly extending protrusions thereinto compact material in said barrel and deect the material towards theends thereof, and means for rotating said rolls and barrel.

4. A burnishing apparatus including a flexible barrel, a pair ofsupporting rolls for supporting said barrel, means for driving saidsupporting rolls to apply rotational movement to the barrel, and apneumatic pressure roll for squeezing said barrel between it and thesupporting rolls and thereby forming inwardly extending protrusions inthe wall thereof for compacting and circulating the material therein.

5. A burnishing apparatus including a frame, a flexible barrelswingingly and rotatably mounted upon said frame, a pair of spacedsupporting rolls for supporting said barrel, a pressure roll forsqueezing said barrel between it and the said supporting rolls, andmeans for driving said supporting rolls to rotate said barrel.

6. A burnishing apparatus including a frame, a flexible barrelswingingly and rotatably mounted on said frame, a pair of spacedsupporting rolls, a pressure roll rotatably and swingingly mounted uponthe said frame for squeezing the barrel between it and the saidsupporting rolls, means for rotating the said pressure rolls to applyrotational movement to the barrel, and an adjusting screw for adjustablyforcing the pressure roll against the barrel; the said barrel beinglongitudinally cross-sectionally oval-shaped whereupon material thereinis centrifugally moved towards the center of the barrel during rotationthereof, and the said rolls forming protrusions upon the inside of thebarrel for compacting the said material and deflecting it towards theend of said barrel and thereby maintaining circulation of the materialin the barrel during the rotation thereof.

7. A burnishing apparatus including a frame, a pair of spaced pneumaticsupporting rolls rotatably mounted on said frame, a flexible barrelresting upon said supporting rolls, a pair of supporting bars swinginglyand rotatably securing said barrel to the frame to retain it in positionupon the supporting rolls, a pneumatic pressure roll resting upon thesaid barrel, means for rotatably and swingingly mounting said pressureroll to the frame, an adjusting screw for adjustably forcing the saidpressure roll upon the barrel and thereby squeezing said barrel betweenit and the supporting rolls, and means for rotating said supportingrolls to thereby rotate the barrel; the said barrel being longitudinallycross-sectionally oval-shaped whereby material therein is centrifugallymoved towards the center thereof and the said rolls forming protrusionsupon the inside of the barrel compacting and deilecting the material tothereby circulate the said material towards the opposite ends ofthebarrel.

8. A burnishing apparatus as set forth in claim 7 wherein theprotrusions are movable relatively to the barrel during the rotationthereof to thereby provide deflecting obstructions upon the inside ofthe barrel for deflecting the material therein towards the end of thebarrel.

9. A burnishing apparatus as set forth inclaim 8 including means forcirculating a fluid through the barrel during the rotation thereof.

10. A burnishing apparatus including a flexible barrel, a detachablecover on said barrel, bearing means rotatably mounting said barrel,conducting means swivelly connected to said barrel for circulating afluid therethrough, means for rotating the barrel, and means forsqueezing said barrel during the rotation thereof.

FRANK LA MONICA.-

References Cited in the le of `this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number'Name Date 86,819 Crosby Feb. 9, 1869 695,102 Griswold Mar. 11, 19021,180,226 Baylls Apr. 18, 1916 1,265,564 Wharrad May 7, 1918 1,840,429Beckett Jan. 12, 1932 FGREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 273,065 GreatBritain June 30, 1927

